Doc Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the author of the companion bill in the House of this legislation, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Benishek).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of S. 404, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 684) to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of land in the town of Alta, Utah.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 684, introduced by Senator Mike Lee of Utah, would address a pressing issue in the town of Alta, Utah. Alta is a small ski town that currently operates most of its municipal infrastructure on land managed by the Wasatch-Cache National Forest under a multitude of special use permits. This legislation would convey this land--a maximum of 2 acres--to the town to provide for certainty, simplicity, and flexibility in maintaining its facilities. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 997) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to extend a water contract between the United States and the East Bench Irrigation District.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 997, the East Bench Irrigation District Water Contract Extension Act, extends the water contract between the United States and the East Bench Irrigation District in southwestern Montana until December 31, 2013, or until a new contract can be executed. This bill allows for the continued irrigation of 28,000 acres of land which is important to that area's economy. It also preserves the district's renewal rights while a local matter is adjudicated at the State level. The bill will not influence the outcome of State actions. S. 997 is supported by our colleague from Montana, Congressman Dennis Rehberg, and by the administration. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2512) to provide for the conveyance of certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada, for the environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids Mine Project Site, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 363) to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to convey property of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the City of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and for other purposes.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the sponsor of this amendment, Mr. Shimkus, for bringing this amendment forward. And I want to thank the distinguished ranking member from my home State of Washington and the chairman of the subcommittee for their support also of this amendment. This is very serious business when the administration is absolutely ignoring statutory law that was passed by this Congress. As a matter of fact, going way back to 1995, this House has acted 32 different times, principally on these appropriation bills as they come forward, to address this issue. Generally, the issue is to not fund Yucca Mountain. Thirty-two times this House, since 1995, has said we are going to fund Yucca Mountain. So I think that the Congress--and certainly the House-- has well established what their position is.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Reclaiming my time, that is precisely the point. Both you and Mr. Shimkus made that point very well that needs to be repeated over and over: This is statutory law. And 32 different times it has been attempted to be modified on the House floor, and 32 times it has been rejected since 1995. Let me put a personal note on this because I represent the Hanford area in central Washington. It was one of the three Manhattan Projects where we developed atomic weapons to win not only the Second World War but also the Cold War. The process of developing those atomic weapons created a tremendous amount of waste, and the State of Washington has a legal agreement with the Federal Government to clean up that waste. It's called the Tri-Party Agreement. But just to give you an idea of the scope of what needs to be cleaned up there, the waste in underground tanks at Hanford would fill this Chamber over 21 times with radioactive and/or hazardous waste. That's the waste that will eventually go to the repository after it is glassified. So I thank the gentleman from Illinois for bringing this amendment forward, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. It's very, very important. This will be the 33rd time, I contend, that this House will have reaffirmed that Yucca should be the repository. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my motion.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 241) to authorize the conveyance of certain National Forest System lands in the Los Padres National Forest in California, as amended.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2060) to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to adjust the Crooked River boundary, to provide water certainty for the City of Prineville, Oregon, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2060, sponsored by our colleague from Oregon (Mr. Walden), is an important step towards restoring water and power abundance and jobs to a rural area that has been devastated by Federal logging restrictions. This bill is a reflection of years of negotiation. Its supporters include those who would normally be water adversaries in most parts of the West. Municipalities, irrigators, the Warm Spring Tribes utilities, organized labor, and environmental organizations have come together to support this legislation. I commend my colleague from Oregon for working hard to bring these many parties together, and I urge adoption of this commonsense legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, so if the gentleman is prepared to yield back.